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  1. 2 likes
    “Okaa-san!” Kaede cheerfully adjusted the large straw hat that sat over her violet hair as she ran across the street towards her mother, a small woman with hair a slightly darker shade than Kaede’s own, pulled into a small ponytail at the back of her head. Kaede held up her hands, grinning as she held up two calendars, one of which was labeled '12 Months of the Megalopolis Seas' and another that depicted 'The Wonders of Egypt.' “I got one for Oto-san too! I know he likes the ocean!” Kamegawa Midori smiled at this. “Thank you Kaede. Another Egypt one, though? You really are fully invested in that-” She stopped, looking around before lowering her voice to whisper “that little project of yours, aren’t you?” Her head bobbed up and down excitedly. “Mm-hmm! This one has Karnak in it, I think! It was a part of Thebes!” “I thought Thebes was one of the Greek ones?” “It’s both!” She let out a mischievous cackle. “They BOTH had one!” Midori shook her head as she started walking back towards the terminal. “I’m surprised you didn’t find ones you liked while we were in the fifth district,” she commented as she shifted the several bags of groceries she was holding. “Only the best!” Kaede dove in and grabbed two of the bags from her mother’s burden, slinging them over her shoulders. “Oh, Okaa-san, are you okay? Did you trip?” Her mother had faltered, stumbling to a stop as she looked up, perturbed. “Did… Did you feel that, Kaede?” “Eh?” Kaede looked around cluelessly, but it didn’t take long for the small girl to feel the ground juddering beneath her feet. “Wait, yeah, I do… What is it?” The screams reached them then. Thousands of screams of fear as a shadow appeared between the infrastructure of the trains. A great, looming presence that was at once recognizable. And moving. Kaede and her mother went white as they stared up at the great moving structure as it lumbered straight towards them. “Kaede! Run!” Her mother dropped the groceries, turning to shepherd Kaede away from the approaching tide of architecture, the girl stumbling to keep moving as she kept looking over her shoulder in horror. She tripped over a curb, falling to the ground. She looked up to see her mother stumbling, looking back towards her as she paused in her run towards an intersection. Thus not seeing the car that was now hurtling towards her. “Okaa-san!” A flash of rainbow light as Kaede reached into her pocket, a spray of rainbow runes flaring in front of her as the scroll of the Library of Alexandria rolled out before her. She selected a rune upon it, gabbling out the ancient Egyptian phrase. The mailbox on the curb next to Kaede suddenly sprang forward, rattling back and forth as it trundled out into the street and slammed into the car. The car veered out of the way, narrowly missing Midori as it slammed into a ticket terminal, Midori stepping back away from it with surprise. “Okaa-san!” Kaede ran out to her mother, grabbing her in a hug as she started breathing hard, tears welling at the corner of her eyes. Her mother’s shaking hands cradled her head. “It’s okay, it’s okay… Thank you, Kaede.” Kaede realized she was still holding one half of the Library in one hand, the rainbow runes hanging from it to the ground below. She looked around, biting her lip. “Okaa-san, I… I can use the Library, I can try and help us get away.” She sounded far more convinced than she felt, her heart thudding in her chest erratically. But what choice did she have? “Are you sure?” “Y… Yes. Let’s go, Okaa-san! We can go back the way it came, circle around behind it! We can get away!” Kaede seized her mother’s hand, turning and rushing off down the street, ready to yank the Library up to read from it at a second’s notice. Please, all the people who wrote this Library... Let what little I've got from you be enough for today! - - - - - - - The bus stop kiosk had been avoided the entire morning. The few who had ventured inside it had been sent running almost immediately, followed by angry, animal-like yowling. Only now as it was quite late in the day did somebody finally stir within. Kess squinted into the light of day as she leaned against the interior of the bus stop entrance. She ran a hand through her bright red hair, mangling it into something that resembled kempt. Her eyes had bags under them and were bloodshot, and the hand she held to her head to stave off her throbbing headache made her hangover evident to the naked eye. “Fuck am I? Sixth district? Christ.” She spat off to the side, scanning her eyes around the area to try and find a water fountain. “Last time I go to a party with Kirigaya. Kirigaya? Kirigaya!” She ducked around the bus stop, eyes narrowed in a glare as she searched for her companion. “Where the hell are ya, you stupid… Goddammit.” She kicked at the bus station’s base in anger. A long, trailing spark flicked off of her head, flashing in the daylight, and she pulled her foot back from the severely dented frame of the station. “Leavin’ me behind, you stupid dick?” She was shouting now, several pedestrians spooked away from the street. “Hell do you think I am? I hope you enjoy having working wrists, you jerkoff!” After a half hour that contained Kess finding water and angrily haggling with a food vendor that had eventually forked over three hotdogs, she was feeling much more like herself. She strolled through the streets of the northern Sixth district, finishing off the last hotdog as she looked down pensively at her phone. It was almost dead, and she had decided to use the last vestiges of its battery life to threaten Kirigaya’s various joints with grievous harm. It was the principle of the thing. “Happy friggin’ New Year to me, I guess,” she grumbled, scanning her eyes over a terminal board, trying to find something that was headed towards the Seventh district. Kess was cranky, and tired, and her head still hurt, so it took her a second to notice that there was a rumbling sound in the distance. But when a wave of lampposts and holophone booths started stampeding down the street, sending everyone scrambling around her, Kess began to take notice and turned to see the giant colossus rumbling towards her. Samsara Tower, large as life. “What the fuck…” she muttered, not processing at first what she was seeing. She was one of the few people at the board who wasn’t running away, and one of the holophone booths took advantage of that, scurrying towards her and trying to fall forward on top of her. “You’re fucking KIDDING ME,” she snarled, and with a jerk of the leg she sent the booth spiraling towards a nearby wall, impacting in a spray of glass and metal. Kess jumped forward, grabbing at one of the streetlights that had spontaneously gained movement and swinging it in a wide arc like a baseball bat, sparks leaking across her arms as she felt power surge through them. She squeezed the metal base so hard it crumpled like tinfoil in response to the lamppost’s struggling in her grip. “You goddamn stop it or I’ll shove you up that Tower’s ass!” she yelled at the somehow animate object. She tossed it up and over a nearby bridge, turning to look up at the bulk of Samsara Titan. “What the fuck have we here?” Her face twisted in a snarling, fierce grin as she started to slowly walk towards it. “No way in hell this ain’t a Fount… Let’s find out which one.” She left a spray of sparks behind as she broke out into a run, pavement cracking beneath her feet as she darted at far beyond human speed, pausing only long enough to bend her knees and leap up into the air, onto the roof of a train that had stopped on its track and running along it along its track, eyes fixed on the Titan. With Kess’ increased speed, it didn’t take her long to reach the block that the Titan had reached. Not that it could be called a block anymore. It resembled a battlefield more than anything else, and Kess splayed her eyes across a mess of moving bicycles and phone booths and cars and skittering motorcycles that all flocked around the feet of the Samsara Tower, an honest to god moving building. Kess let out one long, high whistle as she surveyed the scene. “Fuckin’ hell, this guy’s a goddamn terrorist or somethin’. Wonder if they’ll give me the key to the city when I knock it over.” A maudlin grin crossed her face as she backed up, bending down to take a runner’s pose as she set up her angle. “HEY YOU BIG GLORIFIED DMV, THE HELL YOU DOING?” She took off n a sprint, leaping from the rooftop she had scaled to fly through the air up towards the Titan. Almost as if it heard her, despite it not having ears, it slowly turned towards her, raising a hand. But Kess was smaller and faster, and she spun in midair as she flung her leg down in a brutal axe-kick towards the encroaching hand. She poured power into the leg and its speed rapidly increased, and leg met stone in a crash of rubble and debris. Kess winced as pain shot up through her leg, and she followed through with the kick, pushing off to fly past the titan once again. Her landing on the ledge of the billboard on the other side of her was rough, and she stumbled and thudded into the advertisement for a legal service, letting out a strangled gasp as she fell into an awkward sitting position on the billboard. Despite her awkward landing, a triumphant grin was plastered across her face. “Fuckin’ GOT YOU!” she shouted at the back of the Titan, which had paused as it held up the hand Kess had attacked. One of the fingers was nothing more than a dust-choked cloud, shattered into dozens of pieces. “You thought you could win cause you’re a goddamn BUILDING? I’m a goddamn wrecking crew!” Several pieces of masonry began to rise into the air. Kess’s boasts stopped as she saw the remnants of the finger begin to rush together, coalescing around the hand on a haze of concrete dust before the finger flexed upon the hand, reattached and whole once more. “God. FUCKING dammit!” She punched the billboard next to her, punching a hole in it like a toothpick through paper as several hexagon-shaped lines of light ran over her body. She used the hole to pull herself up, eyes on the Titan now with an appraising, critical look. With her free hand she pulled her phone from her pocket, flicking it open and hitting a contact before putting it up to her ear. All the while the Titan was slowly turning towards her. The line connected on the first ring. “What?” “The Samsara Tower’s sprouted legs. And arms. It’s in the Sixth District. Looks like it was headed towards you before it ran into me.” “Then stop it.” The no-nonsense female voice on the other end flippantly tossed that out to Kess before the dial tone blared in her ear. Kess yanked the phone away, glaring in maddened irritation at the screen. “Are you fucking for real?!” She yelled at it. “I tell you a building’s attacking the city and you hang up on me?! Are you SERIOUS?” She angrily started hammering in the call again, but the whooshing noise of a massive fist through the air forced her to drop the phone entirely, springing from the billboard as the titan’s fist cleanly sent it flying. Kess looked back over her shoulder to see her phone, visible for half a second, before it vanished into the dust of the collapsing building the billboard had been mounted on. “I swear to god,” she groused, as she landed atop the roof of a travel agency, grimacing as she looked up at the enormity of the Titan, fists raised, sparks flickering across her body.
  2. 2 likes
    Megalopolis 1st District: 5:40 AM "Tick tock..." Tempest stretched his arms out into the air as he dipped into an alleyway, hoping to avoid any prying eyes as he made his way through the 1st district. The fact of the matter was: He felt immensely unsafe being here. He obviously stood out, he didn't belong, but he needed to get away from District 12, and thanks to his poor planning, this was the best he could do at the moment. He could travel around the outskirts of the area, ducking into areas that seemed a bit safe to wait out anyone looking around... He would have to be extra careful as he skirted the outsides of that giant capitol building in the center, he didn't ever want to wind up on Stratford's radar. It was thankfully early enough to where there weren't many people he had to worry about dodging... But in the end, it was still hell on his nerves, being so close to what could likely be a very early death for him. He poked his head around the corner, taking a breath as he glanced from side to side... The sixth district seemed like a good bet. "Once I'm there, I can take a nap..." _ One of the things he appreciated most about the sixth district is that he rarely had to worry about anyone watching him. With the constant bustle of people coming and going, barely anyone had the time to register the fact that he had loitered about for a few hours now... And even if someone who did notice even cared, he would probably be gone by then. He'd just hitch a ride on a train when no one was watching. He let out a low sigh as he laid back on the bench he had taken over, it was out of the way enough that most people were getting seats closer to the trains, which meant he could just sit back and ponder life for a moment. What was he supposed to do at this point? Just keep scrounging for food when people aren't looking? Try and find a respectable job, even if it didn't cover everything, he could possibly find something... But there was still the issue of him not really having a solid place to stay. He sure as hell wasn't going back to district 13 without a good, good reason. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a zip lock bag with a few, assorted pieces of candy in it, fishing out a bit of chocolate to pop into his mouth as he watched people coming and going. Whether he had anything to do or not didn't matter, right now he had all the time in the world to rest a bit. After he'd caught a nap without being bothered too much, he wasn't sure he wanted to stay put. Eventually someone would probably get suspicious, a guard or an employee... Thud. Tempest jumped over the bench he was on, landing behind it as the shadows started to curl around him. He paused there, struggling to avoid breathing, before he slowly poked his head up over the back of it. It didn't seem like anyone else was reacting to it, but he swore there was a shaking. He stood up, noticing that a few eyes were glancing towards him now as he let out a sheepish laugh, rubbing at his neck gently. He took a step forward, turning to leave the station he had been camped out in to return above the ground. His eyes widened as he looked to the sky, the towering figure there was impossible to miss. His right hand clenched at his other wrist as he took a glance around, people were already starting to panic a bit, but he felt a rising dread in his throat as he recognized the castle. It was hard not to, but given that he had just passed by it earlier in the day... "What the... People, get out of here!" He screamed as he turned to the bystanders near him, "Get underground, in the station or something, don't stay here!" The tower may not have been facing him, but there was a rush of activity rushing towards the station all the same. Vehicles of all types were moving on their own, rushing around as people began to panic. Much further down, closer to the rush, there was a guy swinging a bat and screaming something incoherently at the tower, which Tempest had to admit was very tempting at the moment, but he didn't think it was going to help matters. He gulped for a moment, his hand gripping at his wrist again as he rushed forward, "Damn it, it's the middle of the day, there's only so much shadow to work with..." He was definitely starting to panic, but he brought his hand out at one of the charging vehicles, the mechanical monstrosity's own shadow latching around its legs as it tumbled over. There were others here now, they had reacted faster than he had, but he barely registered the strange hue of one of them before he called out, "I can't do jack to the Tower, but I can help cover you all with the smaller ones. If you need safety, call for Tempest and duck into shadows!" It wasn't much of an introduction, but it would have to do. He grabbed at the air again, this time focusing on the shadow from the tower itself. He wouldn't be able to stop it... But he could use it to slow down the smaller and hopefully weaker creations rushing from underneath it. Eventually, they would get free from the shadows he controlled... And he would just have to do it again and again. No pressure.
  3. 1 like
    OOC - CHARACTER VAULT Megalopolis 1st District, 11:59 AM, 01/01/2100 An otherwise unassuming young woman, seemingly in her mid-twenties, stood near the edge of the roof of a building deep in the city’s heart, taking in the view. After a few seconds, she directed her attention down to a small device in her hand, and brushing the tip of her finger against its side brought up the holographic screen. A few swipes, and the typing of a short and to the point message later, and she turned it back off, dropping it into her purse. She knew she wouldn’t receive a reply to the message for a few hours. She stared pensively at the city that she grew up in, only taking a break for a split second to glance at the old-fashioned wristwatch on her arm. With a deep breath, she turned on her heel, and made her way to the door so she could make her way back down to the ground. Though a tear fell down her face, she refused to look out upon the streets as the dust clouds spread and the carnage began. Scoundrel Megalopolis 6th District, 12:31 PM The magtrain was arriving ever-so-slightly late, which was an unusual occurrence considering how tightly monitored and computerized it all was. In fact, it had been automated to the point that a significant disaster could be rolling through the city, and the train would continue on nonetheless. It always left and arrived on time, and this efficiency was valued by the people of Megalopolis, no matter how many limbs were chopped off by the automatic doors in the process. Designed in the ninth, built in the third, based in the sixth, to go everywhere else still. However, none of these calculations could hold true if there were something increasing the wind resistance of the craft, no matter how slightly. Atop the passenger car stood Leo Nolastnamegiven, the Fount of Destruction. With a bit of forceful coaxing, he managed to pull the tip of his aluminum baseball bat, as well as the soles of his sneakers, out of the glove-tight indentations they resided in within the metal roof. He hopped off the edge of the train, plummeting some 20 meters to the ground below, where he landed in a pulse of hot pink that left a small crater in the pavement. ”Welcome home.” Anyone who heard him speaking to himself would perhaps be somewhat misled, as a vagrant like Leo didn’t really have any sort of conclusive home, but as he tended to end each day in a different one than he started, the mess of rail lines and streets that formed the sixth district was a common denominator in many of his travels. Leo made his way down the street with a spring in his step. He couldn’t quite place it, but he knew today was going to be an extra-splendid day. Grabbing a loaded hot dog from the hand of a random bystander who had just purchased it, he tapped his heels together twice, and the rubber soles of his sneaker glowed pink for a split second before the energy was released, launching him up and away from any consequences for his casual theft, landing safely atop a double-decker bus that was navigating the streets perhaps a little more quickly than was safe, as was tradition in the sixth district. This hustle and bustle was Leo’s favorite part, as the entire area refused to stay still for but a second of the day. Sitting atop the bus with crossed legs, Leo rested his bat upon his lap as he took a bite from his pilfered meal. It was pretty good, for such an opportunistic instance of take-out! ”Now then…” Leo spoke to himself between bites, wondering silently who the hell orders a hot dog with tabasco sauce, ”I could find some kind of public monument to knock down, this extra-ancient place has tons of that shit. Or…” tossing aside the hot dog onto a poster with the mayor’s likeness that the bus passed, he brought his hand to his chin, finding himself excited by the potential today had for revelry, ”I could head over to the tenth. Those big old stained glass windows have potential, for sure. And it might even piss off someone with some real passions. It’s a lot more fun breaking shit with friends. Ha!” Of course, in a city with as many moving parts as Megalopolis, planning one’s day is notoriously difficult. As much destruction as the Fount of Such could be planning, more still would find him soon enough. It happened as the bus he sat upon was crossing an intersection, and honestly he would have seen it coming if he had bothered listening at all. But nonetheless, his only warning was seeing it in his peripheral vision, an incredibly massive object tearing its way through the wide main street of the district. Before he had a chance to even turn his head, it made impact, launching the bus into the air. Leo grabbed his bat instinctively, and with a burst of his Explosive impact, launched himself up into the air off of it before it hit the ground again, tumbling about like a toy kicked by an angry child. It was then that he looked up at what had very nearly killed him. SAMSARA TITAN Leo had a habit of staying out of the first district, since he knew his brand of creativity was extra-prohibited there, but even he could recognize Megalopolis’s capitol. It looked more like something that would fit in a fantasy book than the year 2100, but Leo supposed it fit considering how the people of the city worshiped that Fount of Tossers Stratford like he was a king. And now, that throne was tearing the city apart, having found a way to come to life and charging right through the thick of it, with what appeared to be an army of animated architecture charging with it at its feet. Cars, statues, holophone booths, all had sprouted legs of twisted metal and concrete and were hell-bent on carving a path through this city. Honestly, Leo couldn’t help but admire it. But even more so, he felt that typical itch. The desire that drove him forward, breaking him out of his past and propelling him into his future. Megalopolis’s number one landmark is delivering itself right to my doorstep. I can’t just ignore the call of destiny. A motorcycle that more closely resembled a scurrying lizard by this point charged toward Leo, dipping back and forth like a predator trying to confuse its prey. But Leo was no prey. His eyes lit up as he stomped his right foot forward into the ground, forming a web of cracks in the pavement, radiating away from him, grabbing hold of his bat with both hands. Leo clenched his teeth, and his knuckles turned white as the motorcycle pounced at him. ”PISS OFF! Leo swung, and his bat met metal with a ping that was instantly drowned out by the FWOOOM of his Explosive Impact, a blinding pink light filling the street as the cycle was launched up through the air, impacting the enormous monstrosity in what Leo could only assume was the face. Following through with his swing, Leo now held the bat in only one hand, pointing it up to point at the titanic beast. Leo knew that whatever was in there wouldn’t have a chance at hearing his next words, but he didn’t care. ”HEY CUNT, DON’T THINK YOU ARE GETTING A DAMN STEP PAST ME, BECAUSE I AM BRINGING YOUR TOWER DOWN TO RUBBLE!” OP:OMEGA RHYTHM - UPLIFT SPICE OOC:
  4. 1 like
    Shawn was getting sick of these god damn Fairy types in this god damn dungeon. Now there were three! Well he wasn't going to just ignore them like the other one after what a train wreck trying to be nice to it had been. He was ticked off and getting really nervous about this weirdo speaking in his head all the time. He started forward but it seemed some of the others were faster to the punch, though none of them actually punched, and from his perspective didn't do a whole lot of anything. "Okay this is getting embarrassing, move over guess I better do something before you all get piled up on." He moved his way past the Treecko and Rotom and ended up standing between one of the Cleffa and Staryu. He didn't particularly like turning his back on either of them but just seeing that stupid pink blob moving about was enough to set the Clobbopus off. "If you wanna mess with us then I guess I'll just have to mess you up first, come here you little idiot." He then grabbed onto the Cleffa with both of his...fists, and started to move to toss it away from the Rotom before it could attack. He felt a power build up inside him. An energy flowing through his tentacles. Suddenly Shawn felt strength build up as he twisted his soft body around. Instead of merely tossing the baby Pokemon he flung it around in a half circle and threw it into the Staryu behind him. Shawn watched as the Cleffa fell next to it into the water and...vanished. "Uhhh....that thing isn't drowning, right? It's just poofed or something like the others yeah?" He glanced over a the Staryu. Somehow its emotionless face felt like it was judging Shawn and the Clobbopus moved to confront it. "What're you looking at, ya one-eyed...one-gemmed...ya freak!" He then raised one 'fist' and smacked the Staryu right in the center. The Pokemon made a sound that Shawn assumed meant it had been hurt and then appeared to Harden itself. Which would just make it tougher to take down like this. How had he done that thing before? That was a move, right? Whatever, maybe he could just keep punching it till it fell over.
  5. 1 like
    Edrick managed a bit of a snort in response to the others' responses to his thoughts on the name, but really he couldn't be any kind of angry right now. By this point he thought of Alois as one of the better friends he'd made in this group, and Citron had already proven easy enough for him to get along with. As much as he thought "Team Country" was silly, he did feel very comfortable around these two. Which was why he gave a bit of a complaint to them as the three of them separated from Link and got to working further upstairs. "You know..." he started to say as he poked his head into the ajar door just past the office, and stopped in place for a moment as he saw all the animal heads. He also briefly spied the other door on the far side, and now wondered if the owner of the house was on this floor or if Link had been the one to open it. "Okay, guess he hunts. Uh, anyways," he picked up as he took a few longer strides to catch up to the other two, "it's pretty lucky we decided to come out here... I don't think Link would've been okay on his own for very long here." Either way, there was another door to check while they were on their way to the stairs. And as he opened it, he was hit in the face by the setting sun and the view of the village in the dying light of the day. He stood there long enough to appreciate both how long it had taken them to get this far today... and also how much had happened in so little time. It hadn't even been a full week since they were at the Shrine... And he turned to catch up to the others as he heard the sound of them ascending stairs. Much like the others, the many paintings of horses caught his attention. Unlike the others, he quietly took note of the differences in their patterns and breeds as they went along. "Is it really that weird for someone to like horses?" He said aloud, clearly a little distracted in the moment, but the discussion of the layout of the floor was enough to pull him out of it. "Well everyone needs to sleep somewhere so these are probably mostly bedrooms. He did say he had space for all of us so..." Edrick was still trying to piece together the issue of this "nobleman" offering them a place to stay while Link thought he had it out for the Princess. Especially when, to Edrick, the man just seemed harmless. "Hey!" He called out when he noticed Alois had found another stairwell leading up. "Maybe we should check the other rooms on this floor before we go further up." Not that his suggestion held all that much weight when he was moving to follow the boy and gesturing for Citron to follow. They couldn't just split up at this point.
  6. 1 like
    My fone recognized this as a doc Got a free breakfast from Starbucks Got a free breakfast from Tim Hortons Didn't personally eat both of them* Tried Cheesecake Factory for the first time as a "someone else pays for it" kind of meal *but I still died
  7. 1 like
    “Well, thank ya’! You seemed t-t-to catch on pretty quick too, when it came to b-b-b-battle!” Es shot back a compliment of her own, her voice the same level of excitement that one could come to expect from her, and yet… It was also completely genuine, rather than hollow, as much of her speech towards the others had been. That, in part, was likely because she had found herself hovering on it in the buffer she had created between her mind and mouth, double checking it to make sure it wouldn’t come off as condescending or sarcastic before finally sending the speech patterns through as full-fledged commands to be fully realized, as her plasma-esque body lit up with amusement. “Sp-sp-sp-eaking of battle, though,” she added on just at the end of the sentence as she finally examined the surroundings from outside the darkness, glancing at the others in the group briefly as she rotated to take stock of their complete situation. “It seems we aren’t alone!” She called out, almost in perfect sync with the voice from the sky, plasma glowing with amusement as she rotated to fully take stock of the foes around them. Three of the babies, two of the stars, and a floating rock. There was water, a weird arrow, and an exit behind her. That’s what she was dealing with. While they still outnumbered their foes, they did so by much less than they had last time, and so Es found herself putting a bit more thought into her actions. In fact, she had found herself putting a lot more thought into how she put thought into her actions, as she realized she had already begun constructing potential commands, floating them in her buffer rather than sending them to be activated by her body. In the briefest terms, she had arranged them from most viable to least, though she had also begun absentmindedly writing the drawbacks to each one as she had finished the list. The easiest to rule out, of course, was running away. As soon as she had even registered the fight, she realized that most of the group were liable to run into it, and even though she had no particular attachment to most of the group, it didn’t feel right to leave them to the… What animal was it, again? Poochyenas? maybe that was right. She wasn’t sure. Either way, that was completely ruled out in either way. Which meant she only had one real course of action that she could follow: Joining the fray. Already, Zed and Six-O had jumped into the fight, with Sixpack even jumping into the middle of three different pokemon. That, as she weighed the viability of her next options, had an effect that limited her range of movement options. She would have to join him as Zed had, on the opposite side, and in some way provoke or direct the little pink ball (of death?) away from him. This would put her in front of Quillington the third, but that wasn’t an issue; he’d figure something out with one of the other enemies, she assumed. The true question was… What did she do after she moved there? She had constructed the first section of the command as a location and nothing more, but finishing it was difficult as she tried to parse her remaining options, a task that was made all the more difficult by the fact that she was, at the end of the day, on a time-limit. She knew one thing that worked was electricity, but she wasn’t exactly sure that was the right call at the moment, for a key reason: as difficult as it was to get any command to go through her body, she had a mastery over exactly one, being speech. There was no telling if she could raise her energy levels to attack again, without her body accidentally choosing an ally for its target, especially given that she was now cognisant of how her body worked. Of course, she could let her body move on instinct, giving only the command of where to go and not what might come next, but that also had its issues. There was no real telling what her body would do, and if she didn’t try to force a command into action, there was a good chance she would have another moment where she has to suddenly overcharge herself, and as she had already considered-- that wasn’t an option. So, she was seemingly left only with one option in attempting to use Astonish again, though her failure from before had certainly tanked the viability rating of that move. Sure, were she rating the viabilities against each other, it would definitely rank the highest above anything else. But the problem was that she was rating them in total viability, and so… Not a single option came above ten percent, give or take. Her stomach shifted as she noticed the honey-comb like apparition forming around the Stupendous Six. She knew she needed to act quickly, but the question of how was a problem. She found herself sending the location command through her buffer to her body, half-baked as it was, as she continued to try and find a solution or ending to append to it; though nothing came to mind even as her plasma began to quickly weave around the others to the designated location. Astonish was her highest viability, and yet her confidence in it was--- “Yeahhhh, that’s the problem with using public printers. Their filaments are generally lower-grade than what a larger company might use, and their calibrations are sometimes off, so there’s bound to be some defects and issues with the print. I’d honestly just suggest trying it a few times, incrementing settings until you got something that printed halfway consistently.” Bingo. She wasn’t sure when she had said, typed, or thought those words--- But that was the perfect plan, for now at least. Her mind raced as she tried to parse everything that had resulted from her command at once, doing what she could to copy down what looked to her like the gibberish that had resulted from her previous command of a location, and… Repeating it. Over and over again, with minute changes. While she knew it would ultimately result in her winding up in the same spot over and over again, she knew her body would still try and carry it out. And the location was no longer her primary concern, as if she could put her speed to the test, and maybe in the process confuse their enemy? That would be enough, for now. The plasma surged as she jumped from spot to spot at ever-increasing speed, steady beats of plasma wings turning to what looked almost like a singular bolt of electricity, always passing through the exact same spot she had designated as she began to loop every-which way-- Until, in a flash of light that she found blinding, she realized… It had failed, rather spectacularly at that. Rather than moving fast enough to confuse or disorient the enemy, all she had really done was throw off her own internal balance as the body and orb was forced to rotate time and time again, until now she was… Well, quite dizzy. But the failure had meant something, in the end. She saw a string of gibberish that mimicked that of the sensation she was given after her failed attempt at ‘astonish’, so either that told her she had just failed to use a move, for one reason or another… Or it meant there was no move associated with what she was doing. In the end she had learned both everything, and… Nothing. Well, nothing useful in the present at least, as she was quickly reminded by her situation as her vision focused again on the pick mass in front of her. In a flurry, she selected the pre-written command she had created before that she thought had the highest viability of working, hoping to worm her mastery at speech into something ‘astonishing’ by putting her mastery of speech to the test. However, as her digital mouth began to move, even that appeared to be thrown off by her momentary failure, low, harsh static being all that accompanied her moving mouth before stopping abruptly, all the while the attempt produced the same strings of unwarranted junk-code that she had just seen moments before. In a string of frustration, she began to send the same command a multitude of times, just as she had the movement command-- Only for that to exacerbate the problem. The low, dull static from her body grew louder, for a brief moment, mixing with the crackle of her plasma as she found herself locked out of her buffer, unable to give commands for a short moment. It was as if she had her permissions taken away by instinct itself, as her body attempted to parse the multitude of junk that she had just let spew towards it as a command, looking for any action it could take as error compounded against error. For a brief moment, she realized, as her vision flickered, she had triggered a reboot of sorts, individual senses stopping and starting mere seconds away as her body tried to understand the command of its brain. All the while, leaving her… A sitting duck. Well. I suppose that sometimes, to get better first, one has to accept that they may get worse.
  8. 1 like
    6th District, 12:00PM In the northern end of the 6th District, tucked away in a quaint little house, lived Kiyoko Nanashi. Not by herself, of course; she very distinctly lacked a source of income with which to take care of herself. No, she lived in the company of her loving grandparents! Akihito Arai and his beautiful wife, Manami Arai, both well into their 80s, retired, living a humble, but very pleasant later end of their lives. After leaving home to pursue her own faith, and explaining that she couldn't return to her parents due to the divide it had created between them, they welcomed her with open arms as if she were their own daughter. Or so the story went. "☻♣♫♦¶◘↓♠↕☺○♀♪○♫♦☺♫♦☻♣♀○♣▬♣☼♫♪↓¶◘♣↕♣☺♀○¶↓○↔►♣☺♂..." Once a day, every day, at noon. That was the rule Kiyoko had set out for herself with that particular spell. Technically, on someone like the Arais, it would last a fair bit longer, but Kiyoko didn't want to chance the spell breaking and them realizing that Kiyoko was not only not their granddaughter, but had been using the Necronomicon's powers to brainwash them into thinking she was for the last month. Convincing them to not seek out her parents - Akihito believed Kiyoko's father was his son - was the thinnest ice she'd ever walked when using the book. If Akihito went to confront his "son", she wasn't even sure what the outcome would be. She was very certain the Necronomicon's magic wouldn't affect their minds; their incredible faith in the kami would probably offer some sort of divine protection. Which just left what would happen when the old folks had two conflicting realities swimming around in their heads. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about that. She'd convinced them that it wasn't worth the trouble; that she knew this would happen once she turned her back on the kami, and was ready to accept the consequences. Then she had to convince them not to invite her parents over for Christmas last week, citing that putting her and them in the same building could only end in unnecessary drama and bitter family tensions, and that the Arais really didn't need that in their twilight years. It would have made her much happier to spend the holidays with a smaller group who she knew loved and accepted her no matter what she believed in, and doting grandparents they were, it was difficult to say no to such an innocent claim. Then New Year's came! Being old and all, Kiyoko's "grandparents" didn't stay up until midnight to welcome in the new century. Kiyoko had, but it was mostly to dig a bit deeper into the Necronomicon. She was starting to reach the limits of what she could read or pronounce with the limitations of a human's eyes and mouth. There was a lesser transformation spell a couple chapters back, but Kiyoko was trying to avoid using that if she could help it. The way she imagined it, no amount of memory alteration or brainwashing could cover up your grandkid growing new eyes or mouths. And that all brought her to right now. Once a day, every day, at noon. Renewing the brainwashing spell wasn't the only thing that happened at this time. Manami also made tea at this time of day, and Kiyoko was always all too happy to join her! Teatime with the Prophet Kiyoko closed the Necronomicon for now, tucking it under her arm as she left her room, and went downstairs. The tea was probably ready by now. Indeed, she could smell it as she stepped out the front door and onto the porch. It was an aroma as close to heavenly as she could think of in this world. At a table sat the old lady who lived here, and Kiyoko sat herself down across from her. There usually wasn't conversation to be had during teatime. It was a time to sit down, relax, and enjoy the taste and smell, one sip at a time. Then, as was often the case, only a brief moment of conversation was had once the cups had been emptied. "Do you have any plans today, Kiyoko?" "Yes, in fact. I was thinking of going over to the second district today, to do some studying in a natural environment, and to think over a dilemma I've been stuck in." "A dilemma? What's the matter?" "Oh, don't worry yourself about it, grandmother. It's just a personal problem. I'll have to work it out on my own." Getting up from her seat, Kiyoko further said "I'd better get going if I want to enjoy this beautiful day. I'll be back in time for dinner!" 12:31PM After taking care of some extra errands and chores that needed doing, Kiyoko was ready to head over to the gorgeous 2nd district. There was a long day ahead of poring over the pages, pondering her own problems, and probably some proselytizing. So it was that she made for the nearest train station. Only to then catch sight of something. Kiyoko had been to Samsara Tower once before. Key word: Once. As it turns out, Mayor Stratford was a very busy man, and in fact didn't have the time to hear the good word of the Outer Gods. And "I have the holy book" was not much of an argument either, when Kiyoko had tried to petition for a church dedicated to Them to be constructed in the 10th district. In retrospect, perhaps showing off the book and its capabilities was why she was kicked out? Well, that was their problem, not hers. What was her problem was Samsara Tower was now moving, and causing quite a bit of damage in the process. This was a problem for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was the danger it could pose to her or to the cozy lifestyle she'd carefully constructed. And where there was a problem, Kiyoko needed to fix it. Wasting no time, Kiyoko pulled forth and opened the book, and hurried toward the commotion. When one imagined how to stop a rampaging behemoth of steel, glass, and concrete, "slap it" was probably not the first thing that came to mind. That was a weak mindset, reserved for those who only considered the arms and wings of this mortal planes, and didn't consider those creatures beyond conventional comprehension. "♥↕§‼◘!" Around the left hand of the titan, what looked like holes in the air itself opened, only for large inky tentacles to spring out, lashing out against the mobile tower with monstrous force. Those sermons and ruminations would have to wait. 13th District, 9:28AM 4 + 40 The 13th wasn't the nicest place, many would say. They were probably right. On top of everything else wrong with the place, it never stopped raining, ever. Sei had lived here for four years, and she had seen not so much as a single second where the sun broke through the blanket of clouds hovering over the district. It was the result of the Fount of Precipitation taking up residence in the area. Sei heard the rumors on her way to move in with the girl. That she was a stern tyrant, who had eaten a kami in a mad bid for power. That the wind and rain were hers to command, and she was merely biding her time. That when the time for her brutal conquest would come, those who dared to defy her would be plucked from the ground by ferocious winds and launched into the heavens, or struck by lightning, or even just frozen solid on the spot. Sei had to admit, the rumors were certainly interesting. But they were just that: Rumors. The reality... "Seiii, we've got a problem on our hands!" While the rumors about the cause of this perpetual weather were certainly fun, the reality couldn't be further from the truth. Some small part of Sei chose to believe Alice made it constantly rain on purpose, so that the only footwear she needed was rubber boots, to hide her being so helpless that the poor girl could barely tie her shoes on her own. With a reluctant sigh, Sei closed the book she'd been reading from the comfort of her bed. While she hadn't expected it to be every single day, she had to admit, it was very nice to lie down and read a nice book on a rainy day. Even if she had to help her fellow Fount with various inconveniences and errands along the way. Getting up from her bed and opening the door, Sei gave Alice a warm smile and asked "What's the problem?" Pointing at the nearest window, Alice said "It's raining even harder than it should! What's--" "I'm gonna have to stop you right there, Alice. We have this conversation every few months. You say it's raining more than usual, we go outside and measure it, and it's exactly the same every single time." "I'm serious!" "You say that every time, too." "..." "I've gotten so used to this that I can tell just by looking out the window. It's exactly the same. I promise. Was there anything else you needed?" "Hmmmm... oh! My college! There's a form we need to fill out for... something. And for some reason they won't let me fill it out online. Just between you and me, I'm starting to think they don't believe I really exist. Could I trouble you to run over there and get a copy for me? I'd do it myself, but..." In lieu of an explanation, Alice simply pointed back at the window again. "Yeah, I can do that." Though, if she was being honest, Sei would have appreciated this being brought to her attention at least an hour ago. Now it was going to be an all-day trip to and from the complete opposite side of Megalopolis. At least the time on the train would have given her ample time to keep reading that book. The plot was just starting to really kick into high gear, too! Holding a hand out toward Alice, Sei added "I'll have to eat while I'm out though, and it's gonna take all day to get there and back. I'm eating on your dollar in exchange, okay?" 6th District, 12:31PM Ordinarily, Sei didn't take the train. More often than not, her preferred form of transportation was her own two feet. With the powers of her pacts, she certainly didn't want for means of getting around herself, but for treks across the entirety of Megalopolis, such an undertaking would run her ragged. The train was slower, but vastly more efficient, and it also gave her some time to read her book. Plus, she was able to convince Alice to cover her food for the way there and back. Like the burger she'd picked up while she waited for a connecting train that brought her from the 11th over to the 6th. Then she had to catch a bus that would take her to the city's main university, get the form Alice needed, then go home. Simple, efficient plan. It was going to be, anyway. As the bus made its way through the district, she caught sight of something a few blocks down. She couldn't make out the whole thing, but that was clearly Samsara Tower. And it was moving. And carving quite the path of destruction as it did. We've gotta stop that, don't we? "Naturally." That's a rhetorical question. Of course we're stopping it! Byakko! Might of the Tiger Hopping off the bus she'd been riding thus far, Sei called upon the power of Byakko. She could feel strength surge through her body, which she used to crouch down, and leap from the ground, above the rooftops and toward the disaster. Rather than land straight at the scene, however, Sei landed on a rooftop a couple of blocks away; one belonging to a building that didn't have roof access. Sei had to put her bag somewhere, after all. It wouldn't do if the thing got ripped apart, since it had both her possessions and Alice's money in it. Once her bag was secured in a spot where nobody could get to it, she turned her attention immediately back to the matter at hand, getting a running start then leaping once more, toward the mobile tower. The plan was simple. Punch the thing square in its face. The problem was also simple. Sei had neglected to notice it had big hands, one of which rose up to swat her out of the air as she closed in on the tower. The impact sent her hurtling into another nearby building, and Sei very much did not want to fall from this height. Suzaku! As Sei fell, a pair of wings erupted from her back, catching her and allowing her to turn herself upward, then away from the action. She couldn't handle this alone, no way. Luckily, her Fount senses were tingling. From up here, she could see them. A handful of other Founts, and more kept gathering to the spot. Sei swooped down from her aerial location, landing safely enough away from the fray near a young man with a blue-skinned companion. He must have had some sort of pact, same as her. Except his patron was a bit more willing to show up in the flesh. And from down here, Sei could see the tower also wasn't alone. All other manner of vehicle and infrastructure was turned into horrid, living(?) things. "Which one you gentlemen want, the big guy or its friends?" she asked.
  9. 1 like
    This wasn't the exact thing he was expecting to find today...not in the slightest...it was more like he was expecting a normal trip away from the store and home then just go back, but no. No such luck, especially for him. If he knew that earlier... EARLIER Jeremy Shelby stood at the terminal for the magtrain, casually sipping his morning mocha, earbud in one ear and his bag slung over his left shoulder. He had swung by the 6th District to pick up a few antique items from a couple near here that they were just really wanting to get rid of. Of course, he had no problem taking the items they gave him, after all he could just sell it once he cleaned them up. Taking a sip of his mocha, the rich taste of it gracing his lips and mouth...that was until he nearly choked on it after hearing something pop into his earbud. GOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING MEGAOPOLIIIIIIIIIIIS! Coming to live from within the backpack of Megaopolis' very own Jeremy Shelby...straight from the lamp...it's the Djinn Round-Up!!! Jeremy groaned, still coughing up some of his mocha as he forcefully rustled his bag, making sure something in there definitely was rustling and being thrown about. "...you do this right when I'm enjoying the peace and quiet, Ibuz...why?" he groaned, before hearing the voice again in his earbud laughing. "To keep you on your toes, m'boy!" the voice belonging to Jeremy's Djinn companion, Ibuz, simply chuckled. "Besides, right now it just makes it seem like your having a conversation with someone on your device and not outright to a magical entity. Plus: it was a perfect opportunity to cause a bit of mischief today." "Been quiet all day..." he grumbled, taking the last few sips of his mocha before disposing of the cup afterwards. "Fairly certain Kaede doesn't have something like this going on with her Library of Alexandria..." "Aw, master, you've hurt my feelings...my insides and outsides as well with your words. But alas, that would be the case. Especially since the library isn't as sentient as I...once again, you were the lucky one." Jeremy rolled his eyes some, adjusting his glasses slightly as he approached the area to wait for the train. "Regardless, next time give me a warning before you do something like that, alright?" he simply asked, tapping his foot while waiting for the train. However, the train would come and it wouldn't stop...and the young man wouldn't be remaining there standing for it. His gaze shot up from looking at his watch and began to survey the area around them. The ground was shaking...it seemed like the feeling of steps being taken. "...Ibuz, I assume you feel that?" "The constant, massive shaking like that of footsteps? If that, then yes...unless that's just you jostling the bag." "You would like that to be the case, wouldn't you..." Jeremy admitted, before moving away from the train platform to look outside. That's when he saw it, plain as day...Samsara Tower...and it was...moving...like a giant kaiju. "...of course it's a kaiju...Japanese built city...makes sense as anything else." he sighed, before moving his bag off his shoulder and digging into it. Before long he pulled out an antique lamp, clipping it onto his belt loops on his pants for a bit. "Guess we'll be heading home later then, Ibuz..." "HAHAHAHAHA!!! Excellent m'boy! Let's see if we can minimize some causalities out there, shall we?" the voice now emanated from the lamp on his side. "Like we got a choice?" Jeremy backed away from the railing, before taking a running leap over the side. He proceeded to fall over the side, but his fall was soon slowed down to the point of a simple feather floating in the air until his feet touched the ground. There was already a large amount of damage being done...and from what he could see, some yahoo with a baseball bat was doing something to...well it was obvious that he was Fount with the power set he was displaying, but it was also obvious he was not caring in the slightest about the situation going on around him. "The hell is that guy thinking?" "Seems like he's...attempting to...oh! He just used that motorcycle as a baseball, intriguing. Seems like one interesting fellow..." Jeremy knocked on the side of the lamp and grumbled. "Now isn't the time for us to be dazzled by the nutjob with the bat...who seems to be doing more harm than good." he said, moving in the direction of where most of the damage was. "Ibuz, c'mon out and make yourself useful. We need to make sure there's not any casualties and make sure everyone takes cover..." he quickly rubbed the side of the antique lamp, before watching smoke and wind pour out from it... The Djinn made his debut beside his master with a firm nod. "Naturally, master. Would this be a wish you request?" "No...I didn't say the words...you aren't getting me like that again." Jeremy shot a small smirk towards the blue creature, before summoning up quite a bit of wind to blow away the dust and debris out of the way in order for them to make sure people were safe.
  10. 1 like
    Just got back from a birthday meal, so I won't be having yet, but birthday cake: The only cake I've had based on a kuki before was an Oreo like one.
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